Subject: B5) What happens to the name of a tropical cyclone if it moves
from the Atlantic regions to the Northeast Pacific, or vice versa?Contributed by Chris Landsea (NHC)

The rule used to be that if the tropical storm or hurricane
moved into a different basin (see F1 for
more about the basins), then it was renamed to whatever name was
next on the list for the area. The last time that this occurred
was in July 1996 when Atlantic basin Tropical Storm Cesar moved across
Central America and was renamed Northeast Pacific basin Tropical Storm
Douglas. The last time that a Northeast Pacific system moved into
the Atlantic basin was in June 1989 when Cosme became Allison.

However, these rules have now changed at the National Hurricane
Center and if the system remains a tropical cyclone as it moves
across Central America, then it will keep the original name. Only
if the tropical cyclone dissipates with just a tropical disturbance
remaining, will the hurricane warning center give the system
a new name assuming it becomes a tropical cyclone once again in
its new basin.